Nevada Rakes in $27 Million in First Month of Recreational Marijuana Sales

Nevada has compiled its numbers following the first full month of recreational marijuana sales and found that in July, $27.1 million of recreational marijuana was purchased. This nearly doubles what Oregon and Colorado sold in their first month and is nearly 7 times what Washington state sold in its first month.

The tax revenue from the sales is $10.2 million, USA Today reports. The revenue is broken down with $6.5 million from industry-related fees and the other $3.68 million from recreational marijuana tax dollars.

Governor Sandoval has projected that with the medical and recreational marijuana markets, the state could bring in $100 million or more in the next two fiscal years. His projections may have been a little lean as the latest projections indicate that the state could bring in about $120 million in that time period.

Recreational marijuana sales are taxed at a rate of 10%, which generated $2.71 million. The wholesale tax is 15%, which generated another $974,060 in revenue. Cultivators for recreational and medical marijuana pay the wholesale tax.

Schools will see some of the leftover funds from the wholesale tax. They are given funding based upon their number of students.

The state is putting sales tax revenue into the state’s “rainy day fund” and will be used when the governor sees fit, such as for emergencies.

Nearly 250 marijuana business licenses have been issued in Nevada. All of those businesses pay industry fees and taxes.